As I have stated in my past articles you face the possibility of some threat to your safety no matter where you live. The danger will most likely confront you when you least expect it. Earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wind storms, fires, tsunamis, dirty bombs, mall shootings, government collapse are all potential threats to your safety. There are so many more threats to your safety, enough that I may write an article just on potential threats. Some threats could be as simple as your car sliding off a snow-covered road in a remote location. My point here is would you be prepared by having the most basic of tools and equipment to keep yourself safe or even survive? If you said no to yourself what the hell are you waiting for?

In previous articles I have promoted preparedness for you and your family in the form of 72 hour kits, BOB’s, Go Bags and the like. This articles intent is for you to take action by building or purchasing a small every day carry (EDC) kit that you can keep in your vehicle or office or both. A basic small EDC kit does not have to cost you a fortune or require a substantial investment like the prior mentioned larger kits. A small EDC kit like the one pictured in the kit below is all you may need to get through 24 hours or less of hardship.

Lets break down what components I recommend that you should include within your basic small EDC at a minimum.

Pouch

Emergency Blanket

Flint Striker

Bushcraft Knife

Whistle

Compass

Flashlight

Water Filtration Straw

Survival Bracelet

Now lets examine what you I recommend that you add to your small EDC kit to supplement it.

Altoid Survival Tin

Contents:

Lighter

Candle

Tinder

Fishing line, hooks, sinkers

Bandaids

Duct Tape

Signal Mirror

Pen

Paper

Safety Pins

Can Opener

A small EDC/Survival kit like the one in my video and discussed above may function as a get home bag as well as an everyday emergency kit. If you are within a day or less travel by foot of your home a kit like this one should aid you in your return home. My kit goes with me on my short day hikes and serves its purpose very well. Thank you for watching my video and reading my article.

It can be difficult to prepare for emergencies on a low or virtually non-existent budget. With little money to spend I research and ultimately purchase the best equipment available for the amount of money I have to spend. I have conducted a great deal of research looking for low-cost survival knifes of which I have not found many, that is until I finally found a relatively unknown high quality yet affordable knife.

The knife is manufactured by Boker a company that began around 1829 in Germany. The Magnum Elk Hunter knife is one of the knives within the Magnum line by Boker. For a review of the Magnum Elk Hunter please view my YouTube video by clicking on the video below. Click on this Magnum Elk Hunter link for more information or to find out where you can purchase the knife.

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What do you know about survival knives? Is the first thing that comes to mind the “Rambo” like image of a wicked looking military style knife. Whether you know nothing about survival knives or are fairly familiar with them this blog will give you some insight on the subject. Survival knives are perhaps the single most important piece of equipment required in a survival situation. You may think of a knife as just something to cut, hunt, prepare food, or defend yourself with; however they are in fact a multi purpose tool used for much more. Look at the above photo. Which knife do you believe is the best survival knife? Ok keep that thought to yourself we will revisit it a little later.

Some of the many uses of a survival knife include digging, chopping down small trees, making a shelter, processing fire wood and skinning an animal. You may also need the knife to make tools by carving or shaping wood or to help start a fire. With a good survival knife you can chop, also known as baton down a small tree two to four inches in diameter. The knife will also allow you to split/process wood for a fire by making smaller pieces of wood that are drier towards the center. By chopping down branches or small trees you can also build a shelter to keep you out of the elements.

Ok, which knife in the picture did you choose as the better survival knife? While they both are survival knives and one is actually called a survival knife I would only want the one on the bottom with me in any survival situation. What then makes a survival knife a survival knife? There are many factors that contribute to a knife being considered a survival knife. One of the most important concerns in my opinion is the tang of the knife. The tang of a knife is the portion of the knife that the handle is attached to or is made up of. Again it is my opinion as well as many others that a knife with a full tang is best. A full tang means that the blade and the handle are forged from one solid piece of metal and the tang extends the entire length of the handle as shown in the picture below. In comparison as pictured below the “Rambo” style knife has a hollow handle which is kind of nifty for storing items however makes for a much weaker knife.

The tang portion of this knife only continues approximately one inch into the separate handle which is fastened together. This attachment point is the weakest link in the knife and the area most likely to fail during chopping or processing wood. While it is a good-looking knife and is very inexpensive at about $10 it is not suited for any serious long-term use. The full tang on the knife in the top photo is not going to break without serious purposeful abuse as it approximately 1/4 inch thick at the tang on this knife. A knife like this one can be purchased for $60 to $85 or so depending on where you purchase it. You don’t have to spend that much however as you can obtain other good full tang survival knives for $20 to $40 if you shop around. Just because a knife cost more doesn’t mean it is far superior, I would not spend the $200 and $300 for some of the available knives as mine will perform just as well.

The type of steel that the knife is made out of is a factor that some individuals consider when purchasing a survival knife. There are two basic types of steel that the knives are generally made with they are Stainless steel and carbon steel. Stainless steel blades can last a long time without rusting however according to some people they do not hold an edge as long as carbon steel blades. Carbon steel blades tend to hold an edge longer but rust faster although you would need to leave it out in the elements and not take care of it for it to rust fast.

Another consideration when shopping for a good survival knife is whether or not you prefer a straight-edged blade or a serrated blade. The straight-edged blades tend to be better for chopping and are easier to sharpen. Serrated blades tend to cut through rope and other materials easier but typically require a special sharpener. You can see the difference between the two types of blades in the photos below.

Notice that the serrated blade is only partially serrated which is typical of the majority of the serrated survival knives available. You can actually still chop and process wood with the partially serrated knife if you use the forward straight blade portion of the knife. The drawback to this is that you wont have as much of the blade to strike with a stick so you will not be able to process as thick of wood as a straight edge.

The length of most survival blades is from six to twelve inches however anything over ten inches or so in my opinion is not necessary unless you need something more like a machete for cutting your way through vegetation. The blade length does need to be long enough to allow you to chop through wood thoroughly.